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Just call me Ronzki I've been donating a regular blood for so many years my blood is +AB & very difficult & expensive for my country in Philippines, & this past 1 year I've been donating Plasma or as called apheresis here in UAE also, but I still strong and feel good, after donation time, I drink a lot of fluids water, fruit juice and eat balance healthy food, and after few days of donation I do regular exercise.
Doing this make me feel good thingking to save many without discrimanation, money matters! it does'nt matter, The life I can give to other is more valiable than money and cannot be replaced, I love helping people the best I can, I'm not rich, Property I own nothing, but I believe God bless me more than I want, that's why I love to bless others the way I can....
NIELCABZ... I did my first Platelet Donation just about a month ago. Today I got my donation card in the mail and I was reading on the Red Cross website you can give Platelets up to 24 Times per year. The side effects for me was tingling lips during donation and a killer head ache the next morning. A friend told me the side effects are exactly the same when see donates. It was a small price to pay as it lasted only the morning and my donation may have given someone an additional year or more... I am ready to do it again.
Last edited by robertketter; 12-29-2010 at 01:34 PM..
Reason: clarify side effects comment
From research and experience: it's as safe as most anything we do
I have done it about 100 times over a period of 40 years; no side effects. The lip tingling is addressed with calcium-containing tablets (Tums) the donor centers give me during the process since the citrate solution used to prevent clotting in the tubing temporarily binds to calcium in your blood. The donor centers list possible side effects on material that's required for you to read & sign off on before donating -- just as with a whole blood donation. I have heard ratios as high as 20 patients served per donation, and that was before the new machines that harvest more platelets per session -- they usually get a "triple product" out of me.
I also requested a search (they're free) through our local medical library, which mostly serves doctors but is open to the public. The detailed study summaries I got back indicated virtually no problems, immediately or ongoing. Out of thousands or millions of procedures, someone's body is bound to act up, but this almost never happens.
I have had bruising from the larger needles required for pheresis, but this is not a normal part of the process, it's always been occasional, and caused by scar tissue formed on the veins that have been accessed many times over the years -- which makes it somewhat trickier for the workers to get the needles positioned properly for me. The bruises, like ordinary ones, go away by themselves after a few days. The brief pain from the initial needle stick is a lot less than, say, stubbing a toe, and I feel only a slight pressure during the actual draw, usually about 1-1/2 hours for me.
Platelets are only available from human donors (no synthetic substitute has been invented / approved yet). They are critically necessary for surgery patients, leukemia patients and people who lose a lot of blood through trauma such as vehicle collisions and gunshot wounds.
The mini-physical is not especially tight -- your blood pressure can be quite high, for example, and my temperature is always low -- around 96 degrees. The screening questions ARE tight, to eliminate possible contamination from things like mad cow disease and HIV.
The donor pool is shrinking year by year, not sure anyone knows why. The average age of donors is increasing, at least here in the USA.
You're excluded for awhile after having tattoos or piercings because these procedures often spread disease (for example, I've heard/read that tattoo parlors use fresh needles but some re-use leftover INKS which can be contaminated).
Congratulations on even considering pheresis. I recommend it, obviously. I've watched a lot of good movies (they let you bring in your own choice of DVD), I've gotten a lot of freebie tote bags, calculators and gift cards in appreciation, and almost my entire T short supply is from the local blood bank or Red Cross.
If you want to donate the maximum amount of platelets at a session, plan on three hours at the center with both arms being motionless for an hour or two -- much longer than a whole blood donation (the movies help, but my elbows are always a bit stiff afterward).
If you want a snack at their free snack bar afterward, I'd stick to the fruit juices -- for some reason all the donor centers I've been to serve almost all baked stuff full of trans-fats, cheap and slow to spoil but they line your artery walls with disease-causing plaque. And sodas such as colas leach calcium from your bones by loading your bloodstream with phosphorus.
Good luck!! --dn
I have done it about 100 times over a period of 40 years; no side effects. The lip tingling is addressed with calcium-containing tablets (Tums) the donor centers give me during the process since the citrate solution used to prevent clotting in the tubing temporarily binds to calcium in your blood. The donor centers list possible side effects on material that's required for you to read & sign off on before donating -- just as with a whole blood donation. I have heard ratios as high as 20 patients served per donation, and that was before the new machines that harvest more platelets per session -- they usually get a "triple product" out of me.
I also requested a search (they're free) through our local medical library, which mostly serves doctors but is open to the public. The detailed study summaries I got back indicated virtually no problems, immediately or ongoing. Out of thousands or millions of procedures, someone's body is bound to act up, but this almost never happens.
I have had bruising from the larger needles required for pheresis, but this is not a normal part of the process, it's always been occasional, and caused by scar tissue formed on the veins that have been accessed many times over the years -- which makes it somewhat trickier for the workers to get the needles positioned properly for me. The bruises, like ordinary ones, go away by themselves after a few days. The brief pain from the initial needle stick is a lot less than, say, stubbing a toe, and I feel only a slight pressure during the actual draw, usually about 1-1/2 hours for me.
Platelets are only available from human donors (no synthetic substitute has been invented / approved yet). They are critically necessary for surgery patients, leukemia patients and people who lose a lot of blood through trauma such as vehicle collisions and gunshot wounds.
The mini-physical is not especially tight -- your blood pressure can be quite high, for example, and my temperature is always low -- around 96 degrees. The screening questions ARE tight, to eliminate possible contamination from things like mad cow disease and HIV.
The donor pool is shrinking year by year, not sure anyone knows why. The average age of donors is increasing, at least here in the USA.
You're excluded for awhile after having tattoos or piercings because these procedures often spread disease (for example, I've heard/read that tattoo parlors use fresh needles but some re-use leftover INKS which can be contaminated).
Congratulations on even considering pheresis. I recommend it, obviously. I've watched a lot of good movies (they let you bring in your own choice of DVD), I've gotten a lot of freebie tote bags, calculators and gift cards in appreciation, and almost my entire T short supply is from the local blood bank or Red Cross.
If you want to donate the maximum amount of platelets at a session, plan on three hours at the center with both arms being motionless for an hour or two -- much longer than a whole blood donation (the movies help, but my elbows are always a bit stiff afterward).
If you want a snack at their free snack bar afterward, I'd stick to the fruit juices -- for some reason all the donor centers I've been to serve almost all baked stuff full of trans-fats, cheap and slow to spoil but they line your artery walls with disease-causing plaque. And sodas such as colas leach calcium from your bones by loading your bloodstream with phosphorus.
Good luck!! --dn
dn ~
Welcome to City-data and thanks for sharing your experience.
And for what you do, I think a soda and some Nutter Butters two or three times a year are well earned and not going to do a whole lot to your arteries and bones!
The donor pool is shrinking year by year, not sure anyone knows why. The average age of donors is increasing, at least here in the USA.
One reason the donor pool is shrinking: American corporations used to be much more civic-minded than they are now. I worked for many years at a Fortune 100 company which no longer exists (thanks to executives with tiny minds and giant golden parachutes). In its heyday employees were encouraged to participate in corporate-wide charitable activities that we were given work time to organize and execute. These events were paid for out of the corporation's budget.
I did the PR and organization for our three-days, three-times-a-year, Red Cross blood drives (and donated, too, of course), where literally thousands of donations were collected annually. We also had twice yearly drives for the local food bank, a huge Toys for Tots collection at Christmas, and an annual United Way campaign that was only optional if you were very brave. We also provided tutors and speakers for local schools and universities and teacher-instruction related to the field the corporation worked in. Those donations exist no more, though they are needed now more than ever.
I wonder how many corporations feel any compunction to return to their communities in this way today. Employees are probably encouraged to join in ... on their own time, no doubt, and I fear corporate charity budgets are a shadow of what they once were. Why give to the community what could be assigned to the profit pool? And everybody expects churches to pick up the slack -- and how can they since church membership is also down.
Young people aren't donating today because few encourage them or set an example, let alone make it a valued part of being an employee.
Risk of poisoning by phthalates during plateletpheresis: yes there is concern about be effects on sex organs
Hi all --
After writing a glowing recommendation a few months ago about the low level of health risks associated with platelet pheresis, I was saddened to come across some information during some routine research about a poisonous chemical being released into the blood of donors and recipients from the collection kits. The information comes from the wikipedia article on "apheresis". Moderator cut: can only quote 1-2 sentences and give link
Last edited by SouthernBelleInUtah; 06-25-2011 at 08:59 AM..
I've donated platelets for years and have had no problems but the past few times I've done it I haven't felt the best for a few hours afterward. I donated today and actually woke up with my stomach in revolt.
The return most of your blood to you and there is some sort of medication mixed in so I don't know if that is the problem or what but while I recommend it if you can do it, it seems like I can't - at lest for right now.
According to my donation center here in Florida your platelets replace themselves within two weeks of donation. I have a recurring donation schedule set up with them. The first time I donated I was perfectly fine, today I am a little sick and have a slight headache. But compared to the people who are in need of these platelets I can deal with feeling a little offset. My best friend and mother are both cancer survivors and my father had open heart surgery...all of them needed platelets. So to everyone who donates..God Bless and thank you!
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As blood donor and apheresis...
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